Why the world needs more varieties of coffee, as Starbucks trials new arabica beans

By Ko Dong-hwan The world needs more new varieties of coffee beans so that bean farmers and producers can make more profit and the market does not get monopolised by a few coffee-producing countries or roasters that offer limited choices, according to the head of World Coffee Research (WCR). Jennifer “Vern” Long, chief executive of WCR, a United States-based global organisation dedicated to agricultural innovation for coffee supply, sees this as concerning national governments, coffee companies and consumers. She stresses the mission needs all their efforts to raise awareness and execute scientific research for new coffee varieties. Speaking in Seoul, South Korea, Long said the Group of Seven most developed nations (G7) had reached an agreement to provide financial support to coffee-bean-exporting countries. The funding will help these nations conduct research on new coffee varieties, with the goal of introducing them by 2030. Long believes that coffee bean farmers in countries in Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia are not benefiting enough from the global coffee retail market. With the current coffee bean varieties numbering less than 120, significantly lower than apple varieties which number over 5,000, according to Long, introducing more coffee varieties will bolster coffee farmers around the world and allow retailers to more differentiate their products, she said. “If you compare the varieties of apple to those of the coffee bean, you can see how little we’ve invested in diversifying coffee beans,” Long said. If coffee production consolidates to a few countries, it’ll reduce coffee retailers’ abilities to differentiate their products Jennifer “Vern” Long, head of World Coffee Research She said that next-generation coffee varieties with improved resilience against climate change are important for ensuring profitability and productivity of farmers in top exporting countries such as Brazil, Honduras, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Uganda and Vietnam, and stabilising global supply. “Diversity of coffee origins brings unique flavours, sensory experiences and compelling narratives about the communities that produce coffee products. It also allows a wider array of coffee products in varying formats including ready-to-drink, hot or iced, espresso or pour-over, instant or brewed,” she said. While most coffee consumers rarely imagine what new varieties of coffee there might be and instead keep purchasing their familiar choices, Long views this as a sign of a reduced, restricted market that deprives consumers of more choices for coffee and prevents coffee bean farmers from making more sales. She wishes to see new varieties of coffee bean harvested from a broader region of the world so the global coffee supply chain does not revolve around only a few top exporting countries. “If coffee production consolidates to a few countries, it’ll reduce coffee retailers’ abilities to differentiate their products using diverse coffees,” Long said. Earlier this month, Long received a communique from the G7 countries which contained the group’s intent to financially support the global coffee industry, including financing exporting countries’ further research into new coffee varieties. She said the “high-level commitment will bring a dramatic change in the next 18 months”. The G7’s commitment is only the latest of WCR’s global initiatives pooling support and funds from national governments and private coffee companies to increase coffee varieties. Coffee roasters and other companies in the global coffee industry have since 2012 contributed more than US$30 million to WCR for the project. The Inter-American Development Bank, the US Agency for International Development and the Korea International Cooperation Agency have also invested in WCR to expand breeding tools and other research processes. “Our industry in 2022 launched a global arabica breeding programme with nine coffee-producing governments. We’re also launching a global robusta breeding network with national governments in 2025,” Long said, referring to the two major coffee bean species. “These are global collaborative scientific efforts to develop coffee varieties with unprecedented speed, with varieties planned for delivery by 2030,” Long said. “These companies recognise that many low-income coffee-producing countries cannot sufficiently invest in research and development for coffee. This is an incredibly positive opportunity for industry to take concrete action to support long-term supply of arabica and robusta coffee.” New coffee varieties have already begun to blossom – WCR’s first generation of arabica varieties. The four have not been named yet. Starbucks and Blue Bottle Coffee, both WCR member companies, have implemented these new varieties in their operations to test their performance. WCR will release the second generation of arabica varieties in 2030 and first generation of robusta varieties in 2033. “We’re all in this together,” Long said, referring to global coffee consumers, including those in the US, who account for 16 per cent of the world’s coffee consumption, those in Germany and Japan who account for 5 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, and Europeans as a whole, who drink about a third of the world’s coffee. “As climate change creates more challenges for tropical agriculture, it’s coffee drinkers who find themselves connected to these growing challenges. They should help raise awareness about the needs to support lower-income countries as they strive to adapt to the changing climate,” she said. Read the full story at The Korea Times

Why the world needs more varieties of coffee, as Starbucks trials new arabica beans

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}World Coffee Research head Jennifer Long’s goal is to diversify coffee production to benefit farmers and drinkers. New beans are on the way

World Coffee Research head Jennifer Long’s goal is to diversify coffee production to benefit farmers and drinkers. New beans are on the way